Volunteers have removed tons of garbage and debris over the years from the shoreline of Lake St. Clair during the Nautical Coast Cleanup.

But after a long winter, additional rubbish and sea debris has built up, and the St. Clair Shores Waterfront Environmental Committee needs volunteers for the cleanup this year. 

"Volunteers are what made this event the success it has been in the past and it is the volunteers who will make this event a success again this year," Joe St. John, chairperson of the St. Clair Shores Waterfront Environmental Committee. 

The 17^th Annual Nautical Coast Cleanup and Lake St. Clair Celebration will be held May 20. In the previous 16 years, the volunteers have collected more than 547 tons of debris from the Lake St. Clair shoreline. 

Registration begins at 8 a.m. at the Jefferson Yacht Club, which is also a sponsor of the event. Volunteers will then be dispatched to targeted areas including:

• Veterans Memorial Beach,
• Blossom Heath Beach,
• Champine Park at 12 Mile and Jefferson,
• Chapaton Retention Basin shoreline.

Following the cleanup there will be a Lake St. Clair Celebration from noon to 2 p.m. at Jefferson Yacht Club with a free concert, hot dogs, chips and beverages.

For more information, or to volunteer, call (586) 779-8777 or visit www.angelfire.com/mi4/scswateradvisory.